Southern Argentina Agile Meteor Radar: System design and initial measurements of large-scale winds and tides
Southern Argentina Agile Meteor Radar: System design and initial measurements of large-scale winds and tides
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DOI：
10.1029/2010jd013850
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发表时间：
2010-09
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
D. Fritts;D. Janches;H. Iimura;W. Hocking;N. Mitchell;R. Stockwell;B. Fuller;B. Vandepeer;J. Hormaechea;C. Brunini;H. Levato
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文献类型：
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作者：
D. Fritts;D. Janches;H. Iimura;W. Hocking;N. Mitchell;R. Stockwell;B. Fuller;B. Vandepeer;J. Hormaechea;C. Brunini;H. Levato
阿根廷南部敏捷流星雷达（SAAMER）于2008年5月安装在火地岛（53.8°S, 67.8°W）的里约热内卢Grande，并已运行了约24个月。本文描述了雷达设计的动机及其在南美洲南端的位置，其工作模式和能力，以及在其运行的头20个月期间的平均风、行星波和潮汐的观测。SAAMER专门设计用于提供非常高分辨率的大尺度运动，并有望通过重力波直接测量垂直动量通量，这在以前只有双或多波束雷达和激光雷达或原位测量才能实现。SAAMER被放置在火地岛，因为它是一个没有类似测量的地区，纬度预计会对预期的大半日潮提供高灵敏度，该地区现在被认为是从对流层延伸到中间层和低层热层的小规模重力波活动的“热点”，可能是地球上最活跃的位置。SAAMER还打算允许同时增强流星研究，包括“头部回波”和“非镜面”测量，这在以前只有高功率大孔径雷达才能实现。初步测量确定了平均环流和结构，显示了不同时期的行星波，并揭示了大的半日潮振幅和变化，高海拔地区的最大振幅通常超过60 m s - 1，振幅调制周期从几天到30天不等。
[1] The Southern Argentina Agile Meteor Radar (SAAMER) was installed at Rio Grande on Tierra del Fuego (53.8°S, 67.8°W) in May 2008 and has been operational for ∼24 months. This paper describes the motivations for the radar design and its placement at the southern tip of South America, its operating modes and capabilities, and observations of the mean winds, planetary waves, and tides during its first ∼20 months of operation. SAAMER was specifically designed to provide very high resolution of large-scale motions and hopefully enable direct measurements of the vertical momentum flux by gravity waves, which have only been possible previously with dual- or multiple-beam radars and lidars or in situ measurements. SAAMER was placed on Tierra del Fuego because it was a region devoid of similar measurements, the latitude was anticipated to provide high sensitivity to an expected large semidiurnal tide, and the region is now recognized to be a “hot spot” of small-scale gravity wave activity extending from the troposphere into the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, perhaps the most dynamically active location on Earth. SAAMER was also intended to permit simultaneous enhanced meteor studies, including “head echo” and “nonspecular” measurements, which were previously possible only with high-power large-aperture radars. Initial measurements have defined the mean circulation and structure, exhibited planetary waves at various periods, and revealed large semidiurnal tide amplitudes and variability, with maximum amplitudes at higher altitudes often exceeding 60 m s−1 and amplitude modulations at periods from a few to ∼30 days.